Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-06-20
DAILY EBB AND FLOW
OF THE HUMAN TIDE BETWEEN
NEW YORK AND BROOKLYN.
The Tin Bucket Brigade-Long Lines Of
People Hurrying to the Big Bridge.
turn Tide.

Running for the Ferry Boat>-Ihe Re-
turn Tide.
l live in brooklyn, and every morning
and evening make one of the innunerable
throng about 200, 1000. they think who
cross and recroSs East river, and see "A
deal of curious humanity in the process.
As | Cume over at all hours from d 10 5 "A.
m, and return with the same latitude.
alternate my company very agreeably.
First is the tin bucket brigade; but | only
see them when | walk down to the bridge
before breakfast. About ) o'clock the
throng begins. First come the scavengers
and sweepers, the women who sweep out
the offices, the boys who do the early
morning work. the first relief of messen-
gers and their contemporaries. A little
later every car is crowded with laborers,
brawny men of the pick and hammer;
about GU, 900 of them come over before :
O'Clock. Then there is luli for a few
minutes; but soon after breakfast one
sees long lines Of people ON all the streets
near the bridge, hurrying 10 the stairs
merchants, Wall street men, clerks, shol
girls, writers and people Of Il hundred
other occupations.
Before .:3U the entrance stairs are
jammed with moving humanity. The
tickets are dropped in the box below
three cents each or forty for "A dollar,
the cars are opened and filed in ten sec
onds--first comers seated late comers
hanging on to the straps-then the clamp
is turned ON 10 the running cable and we
are whirled across To Park row in two
minutes. Each car will seat forty persons
and generally holds fifty; there are three
cars in each train, and one train a min
ute; 50 5000 people per hour are brought
over in the cars. The foot passengers
way, below the car track, is crowded at
the same time, and the carriage way. too;
SO at least 1900 people come over ON the
bridge every morning.
ALL THE FERRY BOATS RUNNING.
Meanwhile all the ferry boats are run
ming at their best For two hours each
morning and evening they charge but one
cent for passage-the same a. footmen pay
on the bridge, at other hours two cents.
Walking TO the foot of Fulton street
Brooklyn, any morning about 9:30, / OBJ
serve several hundred people break into q
run all al once: the clahg AT the dock has
warned them that boat is in, and time
Is so precious that they don't want to lose
the two minutes and a half of waiting for
the next boat. But it is a well established
principle OF my constitution not to kill
myself TO keep myself" and never run
for train or boat. The roomy passenger
depots are nice places TO wait in, anyhow;
but II is curious TO see the fidgety people
press against the big iron gate ready TO
jump for the next boat as soon as il is
made fast and the gate run back
And is ali this rushing and crowding
good for humanity Certainly not \
fellow is swallowed up; his individuality
Is lost; he Is not self existent and re-
spected man, but merely one unit in a
vast aggregate of numbers Nobody
knows anybody; and from the rush for
first place. and the push for seats should
guess that nobody cares for anybody Il
have crossed on the cars a dozen times
and can't remember that | have seen the |
same person twice. Soon after a. m. |
there is perceptible thinning of the |
crowds, both on bridge and ferries: then |
people Of more leisure come over, and |
from 10 O'Clock till D M one NAV see |
rich dresses on the cars or elegant car |
riages on the roadway. About 3 D. In,
the return tide begins TO rise. and about |
$50 the throng is much more dense thar |
In the morning. The crush Is awful. AL |
most every day some one Is painfully |
against the iron railing, and oc-
casionally some feeble one is badly bruised. |
Going over from ) to one see, only a |
dense crowd Of wearied people; about : ,
or 1:S0 the return cars contain some of |
these people, cooled and refreshed, bound |
for the evening entertainments in New
y ork; the shop girls who went east in
plain and shop worn dresses are now, !
many of them, gVing west i'll rather elegant
costumes. 4 dozen first class
theatres and al least fifty second and third
lass bring some thousands; the others
scatter among scores of churches. Iyceums.
slubs, concert halls, and social gatherings
If every conceivable kind. Ii Beadle
II Rockville Tribune.